On Oct. 28, 2023, the community once again emptied their medicine cabinets to help dispose of old, unwanted, and expired medications. Nationwide, DEA and its law enforcement partners collected 599,897 pounds of unneeded medications at 4,675 collection sites nationwide. Locally, the New Orleans Division collected 37,273 pounds between 287 number...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Benjamin James Hemphill, 24, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release today for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A former Gadsden-area pharmacist and city school board member was sentenced yesterday for drug distribution conspiracy and tax crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley, and...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced Savonte Watkins, 46, of Charlotte, to 42 months in prison on drug charges yesterday, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Bell also ordered Watkins to serve three years under court supervision after...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Joel Wesley Creech, 45, of Brevard, N.C., to 132 months in prison for trafficking methamphetamine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Reidinger also imposed five years of supervised release following incarceration. According...

NEW ORLEANS – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 25th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 28. The free event offers anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 drop-off locations nationwide. For more than a decade, Take Back...

RALEIGH, N.C. – William Dayshawn Wilson, also known as “Santana,” of New Bern, North Carolina, was sentenced to 234 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and aiding and abetting. On June 3, 2022, Wilson, age 32, pled guilty to the charges...

RALEIGH, N.C. – The leader an armed drug-trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for moving kilogram quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl in and around the Craven County area was sentenced yesterday to 420 months in prison for drug trafficking and gun charges. On March 3, 2023, Ivan Leonardo Medina-Beltran, age 45, pled...

SAVANNAH, GA -- Two Georgia men, including one from Bryan County, have been sentenced to federal prison for trafficking the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl. Darien Cothern, 34, of Marietta, Ga., was sentenced to 42 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, and Javarus McKinney, a/k/a “Jody,” 34...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A North Carolina physician appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan C. Rodriguez this morning on charges related to the alleged unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. A criminal indictment charging Henry Ronald Emery, Jr...